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Why waste time on Earth, when you have 24 times more time in the NET?

Life was good in the NET ”" the Earth-size virtual world”" until hackers opened a forbidden door and something alien sneaked in" ...

Welcome to the NET - an Earth-like virtual-world, where you surf in person and every Earth hour is a full NET day. A place where you can spend long hours preparing for a test, and lose only a few Earth minutes; or own a magnificent NET-estate, and entertain friends from all over Earth for a weekend - each of you would lose only a couple of Earth hours!

But strange phenomena begin to occur in the NET: Surfers suffer memory loss; NET facilities are attacked; and a hacker is kidnapped to a mysterious site named Hell!

Will Babel, the NET security unit, realize the real danger? Can fifteen-year-old Troy Bentley and his bio-computer and best friend, Flint, save the NET?

Gur Shomron is a successful high-tech entrepreneur and cyber-engineer who turned to writingSci-Fi. In NETfold, Gur has created a new world, where human abilities and achievements are magnified many fold.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

KIRKUS REVIEW July 2014 (NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF 2014):In Shomron's sci-fi debut set in a virtual world known as the NET, a 15-year-old boy must combat users' connections being sabotaged as well as a possible alien invasion.Troy Bentley, a well-known puzzle champ, is one of many surfers of the NET. Unfortunately, so is his supercomputer, Flint, who develops an anti-virus program that's more effective than Babel, the unit designed to protect the NET. Flint's program is an anomaly, since it doesn't seem to derive its energy from the NET, prompting Babel to open an investigation... Meanwhile, Flint and Troy check out a time fold--a gap that's not part of the NET--that Flint's discovered; there, they find what might be an abandoned civilization. But when they try to close the opening they've created, they figure out that something, perhaps aliens, might have passed through. Shomron has constructed a world that's deliciously complex but described in such a compact, coherent manner that readers might not realize how much info he's packed in. He clearly distinguishes the NET by referring to the real world as "Earth" and noting the time discrepancy--every Earth hour is a full NET day. The endlessly fascinating virtual world was allowed to develop on its own for millions of NET years; now, it's much like an alien planet, with its only city, Netville, surrounded by regions of dense jungles and strange creatures, such as a tree that attacks prey with its branches. The exhilarating, elaborate plot includes... and a rogue group, Pira-net, working against NET authorities...A winsome cyberpunk adventure.

From the Back Cover

What's going on in the NET?

Just like any other teenager in the late 21st century, Troy Bentley spends hour after hour surfing the NET - an Earth-like virtual world, where you serf in person and every Earth hour is a full day.

But Troy is no ordinary 15-year-old: He has a secret life. He and his bio-computer and best friend, Flint, surf the NET illegally, looking for adventures in the Random Areas, where no one is allowed. And when they stumble upon a "wormhole" that shouldn't be there - a "fold" in the NET fabric - they can't resist opening it to see what is on the other side.

The duo realizes too late the danger they have unleashed, but neither they nor the NET Security Unit hot on their heels, may be able to contain the terror that threatens the NET... and perhaps all life on Earth!

More About the Author

Gur is an author and poet, as well as serial entrepreneur and investor. Gur has over 35 years of experience in building technology companies, both in Israel and the US. Gur took his first company public in Israel, and later invested in many other successful companies. He is a frequent lecturer about innovation and about creativity and business.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

Heroines and heroes, real as one's everyday next-door neighbors, are gradually enticed into a virtual reality that seemingly fulfills all the needs they could imagine for themselves. In a modern-day metaphor, they discover that no utopian scenario ever lacks the flip-side of human nature - the competitive, destructive urge, at first only hinted at. Slowly, then with greater and greater urgency, the dark forces confronting the perfect cyber-world begin to tear that world apart.

This page-turner literally pulls the reader into its setting from the first paragraph, and one finds it hard to put the book down, as one climactic scene leads to the next. This is no story for nerds. It's a present-day parable not unlike Lord of the Rings, in which all the characters mirror folks you'd swear you'd met before in your own life. As a parable, it carries an unmistakable message. Finishing the book, one feels one hasn't just spent time with an action "thriller", but retains insight as regards meaning in life.

I know this saga will provide an unforgettable experience for you, and I relish the adventure that awaits you in its pages. Gur Shomron obviously has first hand technical background enabling creation of this virtual reality as well as awareness of human reality upon which this reality is played out in narrative.

I usually only read books written by my regular set of writers (Terry Pratchett, Orson Scott Card, etc...) but was running a bit low, so took a friends advice, and picked up a copy of NETfold. In the future I will be more open to change as while the premise of a virtual world has been visited in other books this incarnation is superb. The NET as portrayed in the story is futuristic, yet tangible enough to be right around our own corner. The characters are numerous but stand out as individuals and the story as a whole had me turning pages till the end.

A fascinating read and I will definitely be on the lookout for this writer's name to see what other masterpieces he produces. Alas, and now the long wait for a sequel...

I hate horror movies where people walk backwards. They act illogically. Did you even notice that one of the things that make a Steven King novel better that the other horror schlock is that the protagonists act logically? Well, that's one of many things that makes NETFold great.

The story is tight and fast-paced. You won't believe the amount of action that takes place over a 37-hour period. (Well, time passes in a funny way in the net...) The characters are well-developed by their actions, not by long description.

I read the book for myself, and now I am reading it with my 11-year-old daughter. She is fascinated by it.

This is a great book! I enjoyed reading it and then re-reading it to my son who thought it was his favorite story. All of the elements are very well described and constructed: plot, characters, climax, suspense, and storytelling. The creation of several worlds, their cultures, and mores is compelling in the attraction of this book. The characaters are also very attractive and interesting. The world of the NET is quite imaginitive and intriguing. Anyone, 6-96 would enjoy this book and all of its characters, worlds, chases, villain, and more.

I really enjoyed reading this E-book #promotion ! Netfold is full of interesting characters. As you read you think the story will go one way but the author switches it up on you and the story changes. The story covers different characters and tells the story from their points of view without loosing the story or becoming confused so its an easy read. As the story went on I found it harder and harder to put the book down so I spent a few night up past my bed time reading Netfold! I hope there will be another part to this story I I'm dying to find out what happened to the characters in this story.